chapter 93: The First Molt
The next morning, Spyro got up and his mouth felt dry, licking his lips to get some moisture in them before heading to the bathroom and took a shower after yesterday's tornado event, failing to notice his shedding scales as he walked out the bathroom and after getting out of the shower, walking out and getting his gear on before he went down for breakfast. In the kitchen, Applejack was getting everything ready for breakfast and the fillies were already taking care of their chores for the morning, setting up all the plates right as Big Mac brought over the breakfast for everyone to eat, hearing Spyro's hoof steps coming down as Applejack pour glasses of apple juice for everyone.
"Morning AJ." Spyro said.
"Mornin' Spyro." Appejack replied, setting the pitcher down and turning to him. "How are you this mo OOOH MY CELESTIA!"
Big Macintosh and Granny Smith turned to see what Applejack was freaking out about, both dropping utensils and a frying pan, their eyes wide with horror as they saw Spyro, whose entire coat color wad dull, near pale purple, missing patches of scales, and had red dots all over his body, immediately feeling shivers go down their backs as they saw him.
"What?" Spyro asked. "What's going on?"
"Spyro, yer coat!" Applejack said. "Y-yer... well..."
"Mornin' everypony!" Apple Bloom shouted, she and Scootaloo running in, but skidded to a halt as they saw Spyro, their eyes wide and their pupils the size of pin needles as they saw him. "Sweet Celestia! Spyro, what happened!?"
"What is everyone freaking out about?" Spyro asked, scratching his neck. "And why do I feel itchy all of a sudden? I just showered."
"Spyro... you got Chicken Pox!" Applejack exclaimed, everyone backing away.
"Eyup!" Big Mac said, keeping his distance.
"What?" Spyro asked. "What are you talking about?" He then looked for a reflective surface and saw the living room mirror, walking over and looking to see his pale coat and the red dots all over his face, wiping his forehead as he groaned. "Seriously!? Today of all day?"
"Spyro, ya'll are sick." Applejack said. "Ya'll need to go back to bed, now!"
"AJ, relax." Spyro said. "This is not Chicken Pox, I was vaccinated for that when I was a baby."
"We ain't takin' any chances mister!" Granny Smith said, grabbing him by the horn and dragging him, the others backing away to not get it. "Yer goin' back to bed if Ah have to tied you to it!"
"Oh that sounded wrong on so many levels!" Spyro exclaimed. "And I am not sick! I'm telling you, it's no big deal!"
As the four ponies downstairs stayed where they were, trying to not end up getting whatever Spyro has, Granny Smith was tucking Spyro into the bed, making sure he complied as she made him comfortable.
"Now don't ya worry about nothin' yer highness, Ah'll make sure yer back to full health in no time." Granny Smith said. "Until further notice, yer confined to yer room and only yer room, with supervised trips to the bathroom when you need to."
"Granny Smith, I'm not sick." Spyro repeated. "I don't have the-"
"Not another word little apple fritter." Granny replied. "Ya'll focus on resting, we'll handle everythin' else."
Granny Smith then walked out of the room, her bones creaking as she walked and closed the door behind her, which Spyro just growled as he knew what was happening to him and got out of the bed, walking over to the mirror and groaning to himself.
"Master Yen Sid warned me it might happen some time when I reach twenty." Spyro said to himself, scratching his chest. "But why did it have to be now of all days? I need to get out of here. But how?"
He looked over tot he window and smiled, walking over to it and tried to open it, but found it was not budging, pulling up as hard as he could before taking his bracers off and tried again, but it refused to budge, puzzling him as he looked out, finding Granny Sith with a bucket of what looked like glue, groaning to himself.
"Sorry Spyro, but it's fer yer own good!" Granny Smith shouted. "But don't worry, that stuff will wear off in a couple days or so. Found it in yer garage."
"Seriously!?" Spyro shouted. "Granny Smith found my experimental super glue!?"
"Spyro, you ok in there?" Scootaloo asked, hearing him shout.
"No, I'm not ok Scoots." Spyro replied. "They aren't listening to me, I'm not sick."
"Sorry Spyro, after the reported cases of Feather Flu, we aren't taking any chances. Applejack's going to get you a doctor to make sure this isn't something serious and we'll let you out once it's passed."
Scootaloo then left the door and went back down stairs, leaving Spyro alone in his room as he grumbled to himself, going back to the window.
"This is going to be a long few days." Spyro said to himself.
After a couple of hours went by, Applejack brought Doctor Stable, a yellow unicorn stallion with an brown mane and a heart rate monitor for his cutie mark, and brought him to his room, the doctor wearing a hazard suit as he walked in and Spyro turned to face him.
"Your highness." The doctor said.
"Doctor Stable." Spyro replied. "Thank goodness you're here."
"Yes, yes, Applejack told me about your condition and asked me to examine you." The doctor said.
"I told her and I'll tell you, I don't have Chicken Pox." Spyro replied. "My parents vaccinated me for that when I was a baby."
"They did?" The doctor asked, walking up to him. "If that's the case, it could also be measles, unless you were vaccinated for that as well."
"I was." Spyro replied. "I told them, this isn't contagious."
"I'll be the judge of that." Doctor Stable replied.
He had Spyro sit down and began to examine him, looking at his eyes, his ears and then started to examine the spots, noting some of the blemishes and pimples that appeared in place of some of the red spots and jotting down some of what he discovered. He then squeezed one of the blemishes and saw the puss in it, jotting down what he saw and then taking notes on is coat, watching a couple of the scales fall off as he gently touched it, leaving him puzzled as to what was going on. After a few minutes, he completed his exam as Applejack and Granny Smith walked in to see what was going on.
"Well doctor, what do ya say?" Applejack asked.
"Well, good news is, it's not Chicken Pox." Doctor Stable said, removing his mask. "And it's not measles. The young prince was telling the truth, he is vaccinated for both. But, I'm completely stumped about what is happening as I'm not an expert on dragon biology, nor am I familiar with hybrid biology. If I were you, I'd keep a close eye on him as these blemishes will go away on their own, but that doesn't mean he might not have contracted something serious."
"Oh come on!" Spyro exclaimed. "I told you, I'm not sick!"
"Don't ya'll worry hun." Applejack said, walking up and laying him down on the bed. "We'll take very good care of ya. Ya'll just get better now. Thanks for trying doc."
"No problem Applejack." Doctor Stable said. "I'll come back in a couple of days to check up on him and see how he's doing."
The doctor left the room and left Spyro alone with Applejack, who covered him up and tucked him in before walking out of the room and leaving a very annoyed Spyro alone, who got up and reached to his night stand and took his tablet out, turning it on and pulling up information on his condition.
"Let's see what we can find out about my condition." Spyro said, going to information on dragons. "Damaged scales... loss of breath... ah here we go. Hmm, blemishes, gray skin, foul smell, oh boy. Might need to pay a visit to Zecora. Hopefully she can help out with the last one before it happens."
He walked over to the door and walked out into the hall, but was then tossed back into the bed right as Applejack walked in with a tray of food.
"Sorry sugarcube, yer staying in bed." Applejack said.
"Oh come on AJ, you heard the doc, I'm not sick!" Spyro replied in frustration.
"No, he said ya'll don't have Chicken Pox or measles." Applejack replied, setting the tray on the nightstand. "He never said ya'll ain't sick. When he examines you, he noted you lost some of yer scales, which was worrying as dragons don't usually shed scales here in Equestria."
"Did you forget I'm not from Equestria?" Spyro asked, raising an eyebrow as he scratched.
"Still sugarcube, we're not taking any chances." Applejack said, walking out the door. "Until we know what we're dealing with, yer bein' quarantined."
She walked out of the room and closed the door, locking it to keep him from leaving as he yelled out in anger, flopping onto his bed as he let his anger out. In the afternoon, Rainbow Dash was on her way to the farm as she and Spyro had a lunch date today and was looking forward to it, however as she was approaching the farm, she noticed Spyro wasn't out in the farm or anywhere in sight, but she did see Applejack bucking some of the trees and flew down to see where he was.
"Yo AJ." Rainbow Dash shouted, getting her attention. "Where's Spyro at? He and I were planning on having lunch today."
"Sorry Rainbow Dash, yer gonna need to put those plans on hold." Applejack replied. "Spyro's got some kinda unknown illness and we're trying to make sure it doesn't spread."
"Seriously!?" Rainbow Dash asked. "He got himself sick!? Of all the rotten luck!"
"Sorry Rainbow, but it's what it is." Applejack replied. "But Ah'll tell him ya stopped by and were asking about him."
She then flew back into the sky, disappointed that their lunch date had to be canceled due to a sudden illness and went into town to get something to eat in town and when she did get to town, she immediately went to Sugarcube corner to pick something up, running into Fluttershy and Twilight who were eating with Pinkie Pie.
"Rainbow Dash, come and join us!" Pinkie shouted.
"Might as well." She replied, sitting down and her head flopping on the table.
"What's wrong Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked. "You seem a little down in the dumps."
"I had a lunch date with Spyro today." Rainbow Dash replied, taking a bite out of the cupcake Pinkie brought her. "He ask me if I wanted to have lunch with him today, but he went and got himself sick."
"Oh I'm so sorry." Fluttershy said. "What's he sick with?"
"I don't know." Rainbow Dash replied. "AJ told me he has some unknown illness and they don't want it spreading."
"Oh that's terrible." Twilight said. "Hey, let's go and visit him, see if we can cheer him up."
"That's a wonderfully fun idea!" Pinkie said, rushing into her back and getting a cake covered in white and red frosting that said 'Get well soon!' on top of it. "We can give him a get well soon party to cheer him up and help him to get better!"
"Well what are we waiting for!?" Rainbow Dahs asked. "Let's go see him!"
They finished their cupcakes and then ran out of the bakery, making their way to Sweet Apple Acres to visit Spyro. Meanwhile in the guest room, Spyro was on his tablet playing a few games on it to pass the time since Applejack wasn't letting him out of his room except to use the bathroom when he needed to, so he didn't have much else to do. A minute later, he heard someone knocking on the door and turned to see who it was and saw Rainbow Dash come in along with Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie and on Pinkie's back was a large cake.
"Girls, what are you doing here?" Spyro asked.
"We heard you weren't feeling well, so we came to visit." Twilight replied.
"And look, I brought you this 'Get well soon!' cake so it can help you get better sooner!" Pinkie shouted, putting the cake on the nightstand,
"Girls, like I've been trying to tell Applejack, I'm not sick." Spyro replied. "I'm just-"
"Alright everypony, that's enough for now." Applejack said. "Ya'll can see him tomorrow. until then, don't want any of ya'll to get sick."
She then pushed everyone out and took the cake with them, leaving a slice for Spyro as he grumbled to himself as he went back to his game, scratching his side as the itching got worse and it started to spread. The next day, Applejack got up bright and early, helping Granny Smith getting breakfast ready while preparing a tray of food for Spyro and took it up to his room, knocking gently on the door before entering, but when she enetered, her face twisted into one of horror, seeing that Spyro's coat was now a purplish gray with even more blemishes on his body, watching him itch and scratch against the bed post, looking like he was miserable as he scratched as hard as he could in order to feel relief, but it only made things worse.
"Spyro!" Applejack shouted, getting his attention. "Ya'll are..."
"I know, gray." Spyro replied, scratching harder and harder.
"Spyro, stop yer scratching this instant!" Applejack said, putting the tray onto the nightstand and rushing to him, pulling him away from the post and itno the bed, which he started scratching with his hooves trying to get the itch. "How did ya get worse over night?"
"That's because this is not an illness." Spyro replied. "Like I've been trying to tell you from the start, I'm just-"
"Applejack, can ya come down here for a minute!?" Granny Smith shouted.
"Sorry sugarcube, I'll be back in a minute with some medicine to help with the itching." Applejack said, walking out. "I'll also let the doctor know about what has happened and he'll come examine ya."
"AJ!" Spyro shouted, the door closing.
He then grumbled to himself, getting more and more annoyed with Applejack and the Apple family with not letting him explain what was going on with him right now, getting back onto the tablet to enjoy some games as he ate his breakfast. A few minutes later, he heard someone knock on his door and looked over to see Scootaloo and Apple Bloom walk in, both carrying their books in and setting them on the bed.
"Hey Spyro, since AJ say's yer not contagious, could ya check our homework real quick?" Apple Bloom asked. "We wanna make sure we did it right."
"Sure, I can check on it." Spyro replied. he then set his tablet down and used his magic to pick both books up, looking at their homework to see if they had any wrong answers, which to his surprise most of it was right, but there were a few problems they got wrong, setting their books down. "I'm impressed. Your arithmetic is getting better. But you're both going to need to focus on your multiplication as a few of your answers are wrong."
"Oh, alright then." Apple Bloom said, taking her book as Scootaloo took hers. "See ya after we're done with chores!"
He waved good bye to them as they walked out the door, leaving the prince behind to his tablet as he got back on and kept his mind focused on it, eating time fly on by, focusing on his game before switching to watching videos on it to keep himself occupied and focused on not scratching as much. Hours passed by until he heard hoof steps coming towards his room, looking up to see Applejack with Dr. Stable, who recoiled as he saw him.
"Goodness, look at you!" The doctor said. "It seems whatever is wrong with you has gotten worse."
"Nah, ya think?" Spyro asked sarcastically, which Applejack shot him a warning glare at him.
"In any case, I need to jot down what is happening." The Doctor said. "Miss, would you kindly wait outside." Applejack then went outside of his room, closing the door as she left and the doctor walked up, taking out his stethoscope and placing it against his chest where the emeralds weren't at. "Now tell me your highness, have you been traveling a lot lately?"
"Not recently no." Spyro replied, not wanting to tell him about the other worlds.
"Well, your heart rate seems to be normal for the most part." The doctor said. "And you don't seem to have a fever, I think your body is just reacting to something and this is the result. I recommend you stay in bed for the time being and try not to scratch so much."
"Thanks doc, you're a real help." Spyro said sarcastically.
"You're welcome your majesty." The doctor said, making Spyro face smack himself. "I'll be back after a few days. I got to attend to the feather flu patients there. They are not exactly happy campers right now."
After the doctor left, Spyro immediately made his decision, getting out of the bed and walked over to the draw with his tablet and opened it, taking out the Sling ring and putting it on, knowing where he needed to go while also picking up his tablet and his saddle bag, putting the device into the bag as he stood on his hind legs and held up his hoof with the ring in it and spinning the other one to open a portal. At Zecora's hut, the zebra was working on a special potion for Fluttershy as one of her animal friends was sick and she ordered it, finishing it up and corking it for the timid mare when she heard what sounded like sparks, turning to her door to see a circle of purple sparks in the air and then expanding, revealing Spyro was on the other side and saw how bad he looked, backing away as he walked through as she didn't want to catch what he had as he came in.
"Zecora, I need your help." Spyro said, the portal closing as he started itching.
"Indeed, you do need some help Spyro my friend, but keep your distance as I don't want to catch what you have in the end." Zecora replied.
"Zecora, I'm not sick and it's not contagious." Spyro replied. "Not unless Zebra's molt."
"Molt, what does that have to do with how you look?" Zecora asked. "This is going to be an image no one could shook."
"Zecora, I'm molting." Spyro replied. "Meaning I'm shedding my old skin and my old and damaged scales to acquire a new coat scales."
"Molting your coat and scales? A relief it is to hear this as I've heard the tales." Zecora replied, walking up to him. "Tell me, how can I help you in this case? And judging by your scratching I think you want relief as your coat does replace."
"You can say that again Z." Spyro said, taking the tablet out and activating it, stunning the zebra as he showed her the formula for a potion. "The potion I'm showing you is to help relieve some of the itching as I am molting. Think you can make it quickly because if this keeps up, I might not have any skin left to replace."
"Indeed, I can make this particular brew and the mixing time will be hours a few." Zecora replied. "I just need to head to Fluttershy to give her a potion for her flying friend so she can once again fly."
"Hey, no problem Zecora." Spyro replied. "Just be quick will ya? This itch is really starting to get on my nerves."
The Zebra nodded her head and picked the potion up, putting it into her saddle bag and walked out of her hut and left Spyro alone, leaving the itching prince alone as he scratched and itched whatever he could before deciding to head out and take a bath, hoping that could help with the itching. Back at the orchard, Applejack was busy bucking apples from the orchard and working up a sweat, wiping the sweat away before noticing Rosy walking up the path way, smiling as she went over to her.
"Hey sweetie." Applejack said, hugging her daughter.
"Hi mom." Rosy replied. "Is dad here? I need his help with something."
"I'm sorry Rosy, he's very sick right now." Applejack replied. "Hit coat is gray and he has blemishes all over his body."
"Gray coat?" Rosy asked. "Blemishes... oh that. Don't worry mom, that's nothing to worry about. He's just-"
"Applejack!" Apple Bloom shouted, she and Scootaloo running to her. "Applejack, Spyro's not in bed! He's no where in the house!"
"What!?" Applejack exclaimed. "How'd he get out without..." She then paused, remembering something he had and grumbling t herself where no one would hear her. "That varment. He still has his Sling Ring. Ah completely forgot about that."
"What do we do!?" Scootaloo asked.
"We look for him, that's what!" Applejack replied. "Apple Bloom, you and Scootaloo get Rarity and Twilight, tell them to meet us here at the farm. Rosy, ya'll go and get Fluttershy and them dragons here, Ah'll get Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, we're gonna need all the help we can get. He may not be contagious, but no pony else knows that!"
The fillies and Applejack ran past Rosy, who tried to get them to stop and tell them that Spyro wasn't ill, but they were already gone, making her shake her head as she walked towards Fluttershy's cottage to let her know Spyro was out and on the loose, knowing this was only going to cause some serious panic. At the timid mare's cottage, Zecora was walking up to her door and knocked, hearing Fluttershy walk down the stairs and to the door and opened it up, seeing Zecora was there and breathing a sigh of relief.
"Zecora, thank goodness you're here." Fluttershy said. "Do you have the potion?"
"Indeed I do Fluttershy I have the brew, but tell me, who's it for me to bring so much to you?" Zecora asked.
"Oh, it's for Icy." Fluttershy said, opening the door to reveal a sick dragoness, nearly making the Zebra drop the potion. "She and Ember are the two dragonesses that helped us, but Icy caught the flu and is currently not feeling well."
"I must say, to see another dragon in this land is quite rare, though caution is advised with dragon care." Zecora said.
"Oh, don't worry Zecora, I'll be very careful." Fluttershy said, taking the potion. "Thanks again."
Fluttershy closed the door and Zecora turned around to leave, taking out the list of ingredients Spyro needed for whatever kind of brew he needed, walking away and heading into town to get the majority of the things she needed. After the zebra left, Rosy walked up the path and towards Fluttershy's house, knocking on the door and hearing the door opening.
"Fluttershy, are you busy right now?" Rosy asked.
"Oh yes, I currently am." Fluttershy replied. "You could probably hear her, but Icy has the flu and I'm currently taking care of her until she gets better."
"Oh, ok then." Rosy said. "Well, is Ember nearby? Mom said dad got out of the house and is nowhere to be found."
"Spyro's outside of his room!?" Fluttershy exclaimed, pressing her face to Rosy's. "Oh dear, oh my, we need to find him, now!"
"But... what about Icy?" Rosy asked, Fluttershy pulling her away.
"She has her medicine and will be asleep in a few minutes." Fluttershy replied. "We need to find your dad, now!"
In the Everfree forest, Spyro had found a small pond where he decided to swim around in, enjoying a nice relaxing swim, lying on his back and closing his eyes as he floated on the surface of the water, the itch no longer bothering him as the water helped to lessen the itch. A moment later, something blocked the sunlight and it got on his nerves as he was trying to get some sun, so he opened his eyes and saw it was Zecora looking down at him with her bags full of ingredients she had gotten from Ponyville, righting himself as he looked to her.
"Oh, hey Zecora." Spyro said. "Got everything you need?"
"Just about everything I need on the list I have gotten, but I feel as though there is something I've forgotten." Zecora said, looking at the list. "Ah yes, there is one more thing I need get and once I have it, we're all set."
"Alrighty then." Spyro said, lying on his back and doing the backstroke. "What is it you need that you don't have?"
"I need a scale from one with the itch and getting one from you should be a sintch." Zecora replied, making him look to her.
"You need one of my scales?" Spyro asked. "Well, I think some might have fallen off so-"
"On no Spyro, it needs to be one I freshly pick, only then will the potion do the trick." Zecora replied.
"Seriously!?" Spyro asked, surprised she needed his scale. "Well, alright."
He reached for his shoulder and looked for one that hand;t fallen off yet, finding a scale that looked like it would work and pulled it off his shoulder, yelping as he did it before swimming to her and getting out of the water, putting it in the Zebra's bag.
"Thank you Spyro, now I have all that I need, to brew this potion to help you from this itch you must be freed." Zecora said.
"No problem Zecora." Spyro replied, kissing her on the cheek and surprising her, making her turn to look at him before he surprised her again with a another kiss, this time she closed her eyes as she enjoyed the moment before it ended, much to her disappointment. "You're the best."
"Oh it is no problem Spyro my love, as I have always helped those I care about when push comes to shove." Zecora replied, a deep blush on her face. "It will take a little time for me to complete this special brew, so why don't you go and get some rest and I will come and get you."
"Sure thing my little zebra." Spyro said, kissing her again. "I'll be at the spa in the mean time. Hopefully the twins might have some ointments that can alleviate the itching in the meantime."
After that, he planted one final kiss on her head and started back into to town, leaving Zecora alone as she head back to her hut to get started on the potion he needed. In town, Spyro was walking through town and was being careful not to let anyone see him as, even though he was molting, everyone else would think he was carrying a contagious disease and might call the hospital to take him in for observation and to make sure Applejack or his other friends didn't see him as he knew they'd probably take him back to the house and lock him in his room and probably not let him out until probably Christmas. He finally managed to reach the spa where the twins were doing some cleaning when they heard the bell, looking to the door to see who it was, but both recoiled when they saw Spyro, Lotus's cheeks blowing up as she gagged.
"Trust me, the way I look is nothing to how I'll smell if this progresses." Spyro said, scratching his sides. "And before you ask, no, it's not contagious and it's not an illness. I'm just molting, getting rid of my old coat and scales to make way for new ones."
"Oh, well in that case, how can we help you your highness?" Lotus asked.
"I'm not gonna lie to you, I am suffering from how itchy I am right now." Spyro replied, walking to the desk and scratching his back on the corner of it. "You girls got anything to help me get rid of this itch while I wait for Zecora to make a special potion I need?"
"Why yes, we do indeed have something that should help." Aloe replied, pulling the curtain back. "Ember helped us get some new ointments and special scents that can help everypony relax and feel at peace. I'm sure it will help you to my prince."
"Thanks you two." Spyro said, walking over and trying hard not to scratch. "I really need this."
He walked with Lotus and Aloe into the back of the spa where they set everything up to help Spyro to get some relief from the itching and hopefully the ointments that Ember helped them to get would help him. Meanwhile at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack was pacing back and forth waiting for her friends while worrying for Spyro, knowing that if somebody saw him it would cause a panic in Ponyville as he looked like he has the plague. After a little while, her friends all came running up the dirt road towards and Rainbow Dash rushing ahead of them, leaving them in the dust as she skidded to a halt in the air.
"Applejack, got here as fast as I could!" Rainbow Dash said. "What's up?"
"Yes Applejack dear, what's the emergency?" Rarity asked.
"It's Spyro, he's escaped from his room!" Applejack replied, shocking everypony.
"Oh dear, Fluttershy told me he was under the weather." Rarity said. "How'd he get out?"
"He used his fancy Sling Ring that's how." Applejack replied. "Forgot he had that actually. Now he's loose and we need to find him before Ponyville goes into a frenzy thinking there's a plague in the town!"
"Then we need to split up if we're going to find him quickly." Twilight said. "Rainbow Dash, you and Ember search in the skies. From what Spyro told me, dragon's have very strong eyes and can zoom in on their prey if they desired." Rainbow Dash saluted and took off into the air as Ember followed after her. "Pinkie, you, me, and AJ will search the town, he couldn't have gotten far. Fluttershy, seeing your animal friends saw him, maybe they saw him. Rarity, see if anypony has seen or heard of Spyro and if they knew where he was last seen."
"I'll sit this one out." Rosy said, shocking them. "I got a lot of work to do at the library and I'm not going to run around all panicky just to find Spyro."
"Rosy we need all the help we can get to find him." Applejack said.
"And I already know what he's going through." Rosy said. "But I might as well let him tell you what's going on.'
"Forget her AJ, we got to find Spyro!" Rainbow Dash said, letting Rosy walk away.
They all went with their teams and split up to see if they could find their friend, Rainbow Dash and Ember flying through the clouds and checking the ground to see if they could find him, finding nothing but ponies going about their days as if nothing was happening. Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie were running around, checking the town while Rarity was asking everyone they come across if they saw Spyro or heard him, all of them answering they haven't seen him or heard him, continuing to look around and asking in hopes of finding him. Fluttershy wasn't fairing any better as her animal friends haven't seen them either, loosing hope, but they kept looking. After an hour of looking, Fluttershy and Rarity met up in front of the spa, both looking tired after searching for so long and with little success.
"Any luck Fluttershy dear?" Rarity asked.
"Afraid not." Fluttershy replied. "None of the animals have seen him. Well, except for one of the squirrels, he saw him, but from what he said, he's here in town somewhere."
"Well, that makes it easy, I think." Rarity said, flicking her mane as she talked. "My stars, I need a spa trip. Care to join me dear, my treat?"
"A-are you sure it's ok?" Fluttershy asked. "I mean, we are supposed to find Spyro, remember?"
"Oh don't worry dearie." Rarity replied. "If Spyro is in town, chances are he's here at the spa trying to get some relief from all the itching, though I think he's trying to stay hidden and not get caught, so I highly doubt it. Come darling, let's relax a bit before we continue looking."
They walked into the spa and the bell rang, Aloe coming out to see who it was and saw Rarity and Fluttershy at the front desk.
"Ah, Ms. Rarity, Fluttershy, welcome back." Aloe said. "The usual?"
"Yes Aloe dear, thank you very much." Rarity replied. The two ponies followed Aloe to the back room where they got their robes, heading to the sauna when she noticed the curtains were drawn, curious as to why. "Aloe dear, what's with the curtains?"
"Oh, we got a customer who wanted to have some privacy." Aloe replied. "I'm not allowed to say as he's very shy about how he looks."
Rarity wondered whom it was the spa owner was talking about, shrugging her shoulders as they followed the pink earth pony to the chairs to get their facials. Behind the curtain, Spyro was getting a massage from Lotus, who was rubbing some oils and ointments into Spyro's coat, his eyes closed as he felt calm and relief from the gentle touch coming from the blue earth pony, feeling like he could take a nap.
"Oh Lotus, you have the touch of an angel." Spyro said, making the spa pony blush.
"I-it's nothing, your majesty." Lotus said, rubbing more of the ointment into his coat and scales. "I have done this my entire life. It's basically my job after all to make sure everypony is well rested and has the best experience when they visit."
"And I can see why they come back." Spyro said, turning his head to look at her. "Not only do you have a gentle touch, you're kind and have a good heart. Kinda like a pony I know."
Lotus's blush deepened as she finished the massage, the young prince getting up and putting his robe on as they walked out from behind the curtain and towards the hot tubs where he could soak in the warm water and relax. After a little while, Rarity and Fluttershy came out of the sauna and had a mud bath, letting the mud detoxify their coats while Spyro walked past them, not noticing them at all as he took his turn in the Sauna to sweat off whatever was on his coat, hoping it will help speed his molting cycle up. The two mares then walked out f the mud bath and got manicures, the pink earth pony with an assistant doing their hooves right as Spyro got out and took the empty seat nearby Rarity's, Lotus putting cucumbers in his eyes as she got a mud facial.
"You know Fluttershy darling, with the exception of having to find Spyro, I'm enjoying our time together right now." Rarity said, Turing to Spyro, but didn't recognize him with the mud pack facial and towel over his horns. "How about you good sir, what would you think?"
"Eh, besides having a molting cycle to go through, I'm doing fine." Spyro replied, removing the cucumber over his left eye to look at her. "Plus, this place takes the itch out of my coat. Haven't had the need to scratch since I got here."
"That nice to hear Spyro dear." Rarity replied.
Spyro then put the cucumber back over his eye and laid back to relax, but a second later, the cucumbers slide off his eyes as they were wide open, having finally realized who was next to him as he moved his eyes to his left, looking at the two mares, which Rarity shot up and looked to him right as Fluttershy sat up, both equally surprised to see him.
"WHAT!?" Spyro and the two mares shouted at the same time, spooking the twins.
"Spyro... you were here the whole time!?" Rarity asked, shocked to see him. "I mean, I made the slight suggestion you might be here, but I didn't actually expect you to be here! And in your... wait, did you say molting cycle?"
"Molting?" Fluttershy asked, walking up. "So you aren't sick?"
"Now they decide to listen!" Spyro exclaimed, making the mares flinch. "Yes, I'm just molting. The blemishes and gray coat and scales are signs that I'm shedding my old skin to make way for a new one."
"So, you're just... getting a new coat?" Fluttershy asked, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. For a moment, I thought it was serious."
"Well no need to worry yourself little butterfly." Spyro said, lying back down. "I am one hundred percent healthy." He then felt a sudden itch on his foreleg and scratched it, scratching the itchy area until it stopped itching, surprising him as he sat back up and rolled his sleeve up, his eyes widening in surprise as he smiled. "Lotus, Aloe, could I get some help over here? I think it's time."
Outside of the Spa, the others had gathered at the front door where they all agreed to meet up after an hour or so of searching, hoping one of them had any news on Spyro.
"Please tell me one of ya'll found him." Applejack said, hoping for some good news.
"Sorry Applejack, we got nothing." Rainbow Dash replied. "Ember and I search the entire town for him from the air, nothing."
"For a hybrid, he's pretty good at blending into a crowd, if that's what he's doing." Ember added. "How about you, did you find anything?"
"Afraid not." Twilight replied. "We found nothing."
"You said dit sister!" Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing. "He's a really good hider, or we're really bad lookers because we looked all over Ponyville trying to find him and we looked in every nook and cranny, or every cranny and nook, however you wanna put it!"
"Let's hope Fluttershy and Rarity are having better luck than we are." Applejack said. "Speaking of, where are those two anyhow? They shoulda been here by now."
They then heard the door to the spa open and saw Rarity and Fluttershy walking out with something on Fluttershy's back, everyone looking at them as they came out.
"Hello there girls!" Rarity said, fluttering her eyes.
"Rarity, what in tarnation are ya and Fluttershy doing in the spa?" Applejack asked. "Ya'll are supposed to be findin' Spyro."
"Oh, we found him alright." Rarity said, using her magic to lift the roll up. "At least, before this."
She unrolled what she was holding and everyone gasped because what she unrolled was Spyro's pelt, gray in color with the blemishes all over it, horrifying everyone as they looked on.
"No." Twilight said, shocked to see it. "W-what's..."
"HE'S DEAD!" Pinkie shouted, hugging the skin as tears shot out like waterfalls. "SPYRO'S DEAD! HE'S LOST HIS COAT!"
"Oh Pinkie, there's no need to cry." Fluttershy said.
"There's not?" Pinkie asked, her mood changing instantly.
"Mares and dragoness, if I could have your attention please." Rarity said, she and Fluttershy walking out of the way. "Allow me to introduce to you, the one, the only, the brand new Spyro!"
As she said it, the door opened and out from the door was Spyro, but their jaws all dropped when they saw him as his coat was a royal purple with the purple scales on him, no blemishes and no pimples, all just his coat and his scales, smiling to them as he walked towards the stunned mares.
"Huh, w-w-w-what?" Applejack asked, completely lost. "Spyro... you're..."
"YOU'RE ALRIGHT!" Pine shouted, rushing over and giving him a bear hug, making his spine crack. "YOU'RE ALL BETTER! YOU'RE NOT SICK ANYMORE!"
"I wasn't;t sick to begin with Pinkie." Spyro replied, the pink mare letting him go. "I was just molting."
"Molting?" Everyone, but Fluttershy, Rarity, and Ember asked.
"Yeah, molting." Spyro replied. "If you didn't interrupt me all the time and let me speak, I would have told you that some dragons go through a molting season where every ten years they shed their old scales and hide to let new scales grow."
"Wait, you're saying you were just... growing a new skin?" Twilight asked, looking out his old hide. "Interesting, but gross."
"Trust me, you girls got lucky I was in the spa before you found me." Spyro said. "Another minute and you'd be getting a whiff of what stage three of shedding is like."
A minute later, they heard what sounded like hoof steps and looked over to see Zecora walking up with a pink potion in her bag, seeing everyone gathered and Spyro without the blemishes and gray coat.
"Ah Spyro, I finished the brew that asked of me, but by the looks of it, you no longer need it I see." Zecora said.
"Yeah, sorry Zecora for making you do all that work for nothing." Spyro replied.
"Hey, don't worry about that." Ember said. "We dragons all have our molting and shedding seasons, I'm sure someone will need whatever it is that potion does."
"Um, Twilight... I think something's wrong." Spike said. Everyone turned to see what was wrong with the baby dragons, but everyone recoiled and backed away, seeing the same blemishes on the poor baby dragon as he scratched his sides, his head,d and his back as he tried to make the itching go away. "I can't stop itching!"
Everyone laughed at the baby dragon as they saw he was going through what Spyro went through, Zecora taking the potion over to Spike as she explained he needed to smear the potion over his body to stop the itching, taking the potion and dumping small amounts on him, rubbing it in as he felt the instant relief from it, sitting down as he no longer felt itchy.
"Well, whatever that potion is, i might need some of that." Ember said. "In case I start molting before long."
"Well we're going to need to brew up another one." Spyro said. "Because this potion just got 'Spiked.'"
Everyone laughed at the joke, the mood lightening up as everyone went their separate ways, heading home for the night so they could get some rest after all the worry caused by the molting and the misunderstanding of what was happening.